Misleading! Information on no salary increment for public sector workers, outdated

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Claim: A Facebook user has claimed that the government will not provide salary increments for public sector workers this year. 

Verdict: Misleading! The current government, led by John Mahama, has made no official report on salary increments for public sectors this year.

Full Text

A viral Facebook post suggests that public sector workers will not receive salary increments in 2025. The post features an image of Ghanaian journalist Israel Laryea on Multimedia’s Joy News TV, linking him to the claim.

The claim comes barely a month after the new president was sworn into office.

DUBAWA decided to fact-check this claim as part of DUBAWA’s campaign to fight information disorder. 

Verification

DUBAWA found that the information shared in the post is outdated, originating from a news report in March 2021. 

The Akufo-Addo-led government announced in March 2021 that public sector workers may not enjoy an increase in their salary or wages until 2024 due to a lack of money.

The Ministry of Finance announced this during a budget discussion organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce in Accra on March 17, 2021.

The Facebook post suggests that Israel Laryea is still an active broadcast journalist with the Joy News platform. However, checks by DUBAWA at the multimedia group indicate that he hasn’t been an active journalist with the multimedia group since 2022. He, however, reports for the media industry from time to time on special assignments like the just-ended 2024 general elections.

He currently works as the executive head for Influencer Africa, an entirely different organisation. 

Using his image in this context misrepresents his current professional status.

The Facebook post’s caption and slug, 

“No Salary Increment for Public Sector Workers” is also misleading. The no-salary increment news was last officially announced in 2021 by the former Technical Adviser at the Finance Ministry, Dr Samuel Nii Noi Ashong, on March 17, 2021, during economic challenges. 

In addition, the incoming Labour and Employment Minister, Rashid Pelpuo, was only vetted on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, and a decision not to pay workers could not have been made without a sector minister in place.

There is also no announcement or confirmation of such a policy by the current government. 

Additionally, trusted media outlets and official government sources have not released any information about government salary increments.

The combination of the outdated statement and the misrepresentation of Israel Laryea’s professional status creates a misleading narrative. 

Conclusion

The Facebook post featuring Israel Laryea with the caption “No Salary Increment for Public Sector Workers” is misleading and false. Israel Laryea is no longer a journalist, and the claim about salary increments in a statement made in March 2021, is outdated.